Tip Grafts

Considering a tip surgery to correct a quite bulbous tip, the lower lateral cartilages in my tip are relatively weak. Several surgeons have advised to place grafts to stabilize the tip. My question is: if a alar batten graft or a lateral crural strut graft will be placed, will this provide a wider tip?

Will alar batten or lateral crural strut grafts widen the nasal tip?

February 10th, 2011

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When placed correctly, these grafts shouldn't enlarge your tip. The lateral crural strut grafts would tend to improve tip bulbosity if the cartilages in that area are quite convex. I'll often place them even if the cartilage have adequate strength just to improve the bulbosity.

Tip grafts

February 10th, 2011

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Done correctly, these grafts should provide strength and contour the the tip and sidewalls of the nose. I always discuss the surgical plan with patients, but caution patients not to get caught up too much with the details of proposed grafts. Good rhinoplasty surgeons should have a fairly specific plan in place prior to performing the procedure. However, during the case, many times other techniques may need to be used. You should make sure you see some before and after pictures from your surgeon and make sure you "click" with his/her personality. Beyond that, although I want patients to be informed about their surgery, getting bogged down with exactly what grafts will be used during surgery is generally counter-productive. Just make sure you and your surgeon are "on the same page" in terms of the your aesthetic goals and leave the details up to the surgeon. This is one of the reasons I use pre-operative computer imaging to give patients some idea of what we are trying to achieve with surgery. Good luck!

Rhinoplasty Pictures

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